Introducing the new School Nursing Service in Lothian…
Society is changing and so are the needs of children and young people. The Scottish Government has refocused the roles of School Nurses and Health Visitors in Scotland to support its goal of making Scotland the best place to grow up.
The new school nursing aims to support health and wellbeing for all children, whilst offering more intensive support to those with the highest needs.
All children will still be offered core services such as vaccinations, growth and health assessments, and drop in clinics for questions about things like sexual health.
In addition, school nurses will focus on young people who face additional challenges according to 10 areas which the Scottish Government has identified.
The 10 key areas that school nurses will focus on are:
- Emotional Health and Wellbeing
- Substance Misuse
- Child Protection
- Domestic Abuse
- Looked after children
- Homelessness
- Youth Justice
- Young Carers
- Sexual Health
- Transitions
Who is in the School Nursing Team? Our teams are made up of:
- School Nurses (Registered Nurses who have then studied to complete a specialist qualification in school nursing) – these nurses lead the teams and support children and young people around the 10 key areas.
- Community Staff Nurses (Schools) – these are registered nurses who work with the school nurses and deliver some of the services in schools such as drop in’s, teacher education sessions etc. They may also support individual children once the school nurse has assessed their need.
- Community Health Assistants (Schools) – these staff are not registered nurses, but may have a SVQ level qualification or experience in the NHS or care field. They support the team, and undertake designated tasks such as doing height and weight measuring, eye tests and clerical work.
What hours do the team work?
- Monday – Friday office hours (excluding public holidays)
- Previously school nurses have worked in term time only but we are moving to all year working and in any team there will be some cover over holiday periods.
Where are the team based?
The school nursing team are part of the primary health care team, and usually based in health centres. The teams cover all local authority schools in Lothian and work in cluster teams.
In Lothian we have 6 teams:
- East and Midlothian – are one joint team, based at Musselburgh Primary Care Centre
- North West Edinburgh – based at Pennywell All Care Centre
- North East Edinburgh – based at Allander House
- South West Edinburgh – Slateford Medical Centre
- South East Edinburgh – Gracemount Medical Centre
- West Lothian – Bathgate Primary Care Centre
How Do I Speak to a School Nurse?
- if you are a child or young person – you can speak to your teacher or guidance teacher to talk through if a referral to a school nurse might help; or you can visit the drop in sessions at some of the high schools or in the community; or you can talk to your GP; or talk to your parent or carer who can link with all these people too.
- If you are a parent or carer – you can speak to your school or guidance teacher or GP to talk through if a referral to a school nurse might help.
- If you are a education, social work or health professional – you can make a professional request for assistance, via our secure email system.
